This meal prep isn't one of my super fast easy ones. The curry chickpeas do take some time to make the sauce, and soaking the chickpeas. But the other parts of the meal prep can be made very easy to balance it out.
You could make this recipe easier by using canned chickpeas, but I really really recommend you try making your own sauce. Once you finish chopping all the sauce ingredients it really isn't that difficult.
This meal prep is great if you are trying to lose weight, but need a savory meal keep you satisfied so you don't grab for unhealthy foods. This is also a good meal for someone new to giving up meat because the chickpea sauce makes them taste very flavorful like meat.
This should be enough meal prep for 3-4 meals depending on your portions.
Ingredients for curry chickpeas:
Avocado oil
Dried bay Leafs
Dried curry leafs
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
Turmeric
Red pepper flakes
Ground coriander
Ground cumin
Salt
Pepper
1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
3 1 inch pieces of ginger diced
1-2 Serrano peppers diced-depending on your spice level preference
3 roma tomatoes diced
2-3 cups of dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or 2 cans.
Fresh cilantro and lemon to garnish
Step by Step instructions for Curry Chickpeas
1. Soak 2-3 cups of dried chick peas in water over night or for at least 4 hours. Don't use canned. Fresh tastes so much better!!
2. Heat 2-4 TBS avocado oil medium high heat, then add: 3 Bay Leafs, hand full of curry leafs, 1 TSP cumin seeds, 1 TSP coriander seeds. Then add 1-2 TSP of these spices: turmeric, red pepper flakes, ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper, salt, garam masala (indian spice mix). I like to just add the oil and all the spices to the pot before I turn the burner on so I can slowly just get everything added and then put the spice jars away. I usually leave out salt, pepper, and Garam Masala in case I think I need to add more spice to it later on.
3. Heat the spices for only 1 min, careful to not burn them. Then add one onion diced to the pot to fry. Once the onions become transparent add in the diced up ginger, garlic, and Serrano pepper. Once all the spices and herbs have cooked for a few minutes add in the diced tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam.
4. While all your spices and tomatoes are cooking, begin boiling your soaked chickpeas. You simply bring them to a boil in a pot of water, then cover and cook on low like rice. Check them every so often to make sure they don't get over cooked. Usually takes about 15 mins.
5. Return to your tomato spice mix. Use a spatula or other cooking tool to mash your cooked tomatoes and onions so it begins to look like a chunky marinara sauce. This is the time to taste test it too. Add in more salt or more Garam Masala if needed. Usually I add in more salt. Turn off and leave covered while you wait for your chickpeas to finish cooking.
6. Add your drained and cooked chickpeas to your sauce, and re-heat. Let it sit so they absorb the sauce.
Ingredients for Coconut Spinach
1 large container of spinach-the really big one, not the semi big one. Or at least 2-3 bags of spinach. It cooks down very small.
1 can of coconut milk
salt and pepper
Coconut Spinach Directions:
1. Just throw all the spinach and coconut milk in a large pan and let it cook down. Should only take 5-10mins. I drained out some coconut milk at the end so it wasn't too watery for my meal prep container.
Other ingredients needed for meal prep sides:
2 cups of cooked brown rice, just follow package instructions. Don't add oil. Brown rice is the most filling of all the rice choices.
2 bell peppers diced up, this is your raw veggie for the meal prep. You can substitute another veggie like if you prefer. Try to pick a veggie you like to eat raw with no dip. That is why I chose bell peppers, because they are sweet and not too bitter to eat raw.
1 lemon, this is your dressing for your raw veggie.
